COLLECTIVE POETRY: ROUND 10

On Wednesdays, I post a photograph on my Rasjacobson Art Facebook Page and ask people to add a single line of poetry in the comments from which I attempt to create a cohesive piece of writing.

This week’s piece was inspired by a photograph taken of yours truly, prior to The Purple Painted Lady Festival. Frankly, it’s a miracle I was able to participate this year, given the nature of my back & hip injuries — and I think this photo conveys a lot of joy, even though I know I was in a fair amount of pain when it was taken.

Today’s piece attempts to convey the dichotomy between appearance & reality & it represents the combined efforts of 21 people. Many thanks to everyone who participated.

OUTSIDE THE DAY, THE DRESS, THE DANCE

Summer ended with a thud,

Two bulging disks, and

A pile of mud, a strange dance

we don’t understand

Until we have to do it,

To carry on. September brought

A crushing weight, the scent

Of grapes, and ice pressed

Against her hip, as she crawled

From room to room, holding onto

The wall and affirmations

from people who told her

She would sing again.

“Anything is possible,” they said.

But no one promised she would dance,

Her spine, a brittle stick

In the forest, the center of

her bruised universe

Forcing her to grow

a new backbone

And just keep going.

On dark days, she put on the sun

bent over with laughter

her imagination endless

eyes wide shut, heart wide open.

A stranger in her own life,

She notices new things: the cemetery

Adjacent to her purple irises.

The metal chair

for her to sit on.

A cane in the closet.

Unattractive flat shoes

to hold her feet.

Strutting around

In a wrinkled thrift store gown

she wears Converse high tops

& an invisible crown.